The weekend

[ellen_datlow]

Friday evening I watch The Bourne Ultimatum which I quite liked. However...Joan Allen, who in the past has been a marvelous actor, seems to have gotten a face lift since the last movie and has lost all movement in her face. What a shame.

Then I watched the rest of the first season of Dexter. Liked it a lot...if anyone talks about plot points in the comments please use a spoiler warning so that the uninitiated who intend to someday watch the show can do so in blissful ignorance.

Saturday I went with Rick Bowes to a matinee of a Paul Taylor dance concert. Lovely, charming, and light as a feather. Some amazing dancing (and yes, I've seen the terrific Chinese acrobats with the ballerinas dancing Swan Lake--and yes, they're great) with women leaping into the arms of their partners from a few feet away. Breathtaking.

Today I spent seven hours (count em) from noon to 7pm at Robert's apartment, with (at different times): Ellie Lang, Jack Womack, Gordon Van Gelder, and Rob Killheffer. Rob and Gordon took a car full of garbage bags filled with donations (mostly clothing) to Housing Works. We bagged up about ten bags of garbage (probably more), some of which we were able to take downstairs, most of which we left in the apt fo the next round of helpers to remove. Now that we have one room cleaned up a bit, Rob and Gordon, and I started organizing the audio tapes, dvds, cds, books, and video tapes, and record albums into piles. It finally looks like we've made progress. I was able to reach over to turn on the water in the kitchen sink today--not easily--and it's fine. Jack worked in the back/first room, the one I worked in the first time I was there. He found another mattress on the floor, filled with stuff. Now we can walk on the mattress to get to the rest of the room. Jack filled several bags full clothing (I think) that are to be disposed of. I took home some great blues and jazz cds and promptly tried to get rid of some of mine that I haven't listened to in ages. We all found stuff to take but are veryaware that this could be dangerous. Hell, going to Robert's to clean out the place has made an impression on all of us. Interestingly, since this has been going on, I've been hearing of more and more instances of people who suffer from this syndrome of being unable to throw anything away. Houses filled up to the attic, which cannot be opened easily because it's filled with papers and other things.
Anyway, enough. I've still got to finish my 2007 summary before I leave for Orlando Wednesday....aighhh.

Comments

[bev-vincent.livejournal.com]

In my wife's uncle's case, he suffered a head injury as a young man that robbed him of some of his mental acuity. From the subjects of the books that he purchased but never read, we theorized that he somehow hoped to regain what he lost.

The reason for the kitchen gadgets in a kitchenless apartment defies rational explanation.


Re DexterI know that I'm hearing the phrase "motherlover" a lot, which robs the original term of some of its bite. I have seen at least one abrupt cut to commercial that was probably more of a cut to the bedroom.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Re: Dexter--what about the grisliness?

[bev-vincent.livejournal.com]

They certainly aren't shying away from displaying the chopped up bodies, and we get to see each of Dexter's facial slices, but I don't know if there is more that has been edited out since I've never seen the original versions.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

The reason for the kitchen gadgets in a kitchenless apartment defies rational explanation.

By me, a kitchenless apartment defies rational explanation. How would you live...?

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

That's easy. In a city you order in or go out to eat ;-)

[desperance.livejournal.com]

I live in a city. And cook.

Okay, I know not everyone is like me. I don't believe my friends in Taiwan know how to slice an onion; street food is so cheap and so good, they've never needed to learn. But their apartments do at least still have a rudimentary kitchen, just in case. I'm kinda boggled, at the thought of somewhere that just doesn't. (Over here, I'm not even sure it would be legal...)

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

I don't think anyone said they didn't have a kitchen--just that it wasn't used.

I do eat at home, but during the week I use the toaster oven, rarely cooking a whole meal for myself. Weekends, I make myself breakfast. But I haven't had anyone over my apt to eat since I left OMNI, which is when my apt became my office. I have a full kitchen (bigger than one of my other rooms) and a kitchen table, but the table is covered in book piles (usually). When someone does come over we bring in nice cheeses, pates, and a good bread to eat in the living room.

[bev-vincent.livejournal.com]

He ate all his meals at cafeteria-style establishments, like Luby's.